#Crush the industry lyrics how to

“Skinship” became encouraged, which could take form in hugging, holding hands, or even kissing between members. This “fan-service” directly feeds the fetish a lot of straight teenage women have regarding an often sexualized relationship between attractive same-sex relationships, particularly between men. While Western boy groups like One Direction were denying fan theories of homosexuality between members, K-pop labels fully embraced “shipping” culture. It didn’t take long before South Korea’s record labels realized there was major money to be made if they began to sell the idea that their idols were secretly gay for each other. These “ships”– a fandom term for a relationship that fans want to see together– are used to string along queer fans without ever delivering. This was in part because people enjoyed the shows and part because each one had a questionable intimate same-sex friendship. Queerbaiting is defined as “the practice of using hints of sexual ambiguity to tease an audience.” It’s a concept that was born out of Tumblr fandom culture in the early 2010’s, when the shows Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock were all mega-popular. This seems incredibly progressive from a Western point of view, where a man could get quite the backlash for any noticeable makeup at all. The concept of masculinity is different in Korea. In the Western world, male artists that dress like this are usually out and queer or assumed to be queer. Male idols often show up to major events with extreme smokey eyes, glitter, the whole shebang. This is because there is not as much differentiation between how male and female idols are styled: both are allowed brightly colored locks, visible makeup, and fashion-forward outfits. Oftentimes Westerners look at the styling of K-pop artists and, based on looks, assume that the industry is completely comprised of LGBT+ people.

Compared to what sometimes seems like a more rigid Western music industry, it’s rather fresh. Artists are always seeking to push a new narrative. There’s always the push to try something new. And each new album is a fight to outdo the last zany outfit. Women groups bring out suits every now and again. K-pop, more often than not, has men dressed in skirts, fishnets, and crop tops. There’s a reason Lady Gaga has such a huge queer fanbase. We also eat up gender-fluid or unconventional perceptions of fashion. The LGBT+ community loves a good, camp-y performance. They must be capable of memorizing tons of choreographies and performing them in perfect synchronization with the other members of the group.

#Crush the industry lyrics how to

The biggest thing that sets K-pop apart from Western artists is that each “idol,” as K-pop members are called in the industry, is expected to know how to dance. I believe there are several key factors that differentiate the K-pop aesthetic from music in other countries and that also draw in an LGBT+ audience. Boy Group EXO from the “Obsession” Music Video.

K-pop is a genre of music from South Korea, just as complicated and diverse as the Western pop genre. Honestly, at this point, you’d have to be living under a rock to not know what K-pop is.